Thursday, February 14, 2013 (read 1105 times)

Valentines Day in Different Languages

by Lauren

“When love is not madness, it is not love”
(A love quote from Pedro Calderon de la Barca, a dramatist, poet and writer from the Spanish Golden Age)

Valentine’s Day is an annual celebration that takes place on the 14th February. It is a special day for couples to celebrate their love for one another by exchanging cards. Valentine's Day is the second-most popular card-giving opportunity (after birthdays) with 141 million cards being exchanged every year. It is customary for the man to present his wife or girlfriend with chocolates and roses. The color of the chosen flowers is said to be symbolic:

Red Roses convey a clear message of love. The color symbolizes passion and adoration. Red roses are a classic choice on Valentine’s Day.

White Roses present an image of innocence and purity. Giving white roses says that the receiver is chaste and that the giver has good intentions.

The history of Valentine's Day is mysterious. According to legend, Valentine was a priest in Rome during the 3rd century. When the emperor decided that unmarried men made finer soldiers than those joined in holy matrimony, he declared marriage illegal. Valentine defied the emperor and carried on performing secret marriages for young couples. When the emperor found out, Valentine was sentenced to death.

5 interesting facts about Valentine’s Day:

According to research, there are 119 single men in their 20’s for every 100 single women of the same age. In Spain, there are 153 single for every 100 single women.

More than 6,000 marriages take place every day in the USA.

According Match.com, the online dating industry has 40 million users and pulls in $1.9 billion in annual revenue.

17% of married couples say they met on the Internet, in comparison to 38% who say they met at school or work and 27% who say they met through a friend.

53% of women would end their relationship if they didn’t get something for Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day in Latin America

Valentine’s Day in Latin America is celebrated a little differently. The main difference is that the day is as much about friends and family as it is about lovers. Guatemalans, for example, exchange flowers, chocolates and cards on the day of Amor and Amistad but with friends as well as husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends. In many Latin American countries, Amigo Secreto is a popular activity to engage in during the lead-up to Valentine’s Day. Amigo Secreto is an adaptation of “Secret Santa”, a western Christmas tradition. Members of a friend group are randomly assigned a person to whom they anonymously give a present. In Guatemala City center, it is customary for the locals to dress up in fancy costumes and parade through the streets. Interestingly, in Columbia, the day of Amor and Amistad is celebrated every 3rd Saturday of September. Valentine’s Day does not exist in Brazil. Instead, Dia Dos Namorados is celebrated on the 12th June, the day before St Anthony’s Day, the patron saint of marriage.

To conclude, Valentine’s Day is a romantic festival of love, celebrated by the exchanging of cards and letters, the giving of flowers and/or presents and the cooking of romantic meals.

Valentine’s Day also provides the opportunity for secret admirers to make their feelings known. People who would like a romantic relationship with somebody else may send a card or flowers (often anonymously) on this special day.